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Hacking Android
Hacking Android

Hacking Android: Explore every nook and cranny of the Android OS to modify your device and guard it against security threats

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Profile Icon Mohammed A. Imran Profile Icon Rao Kotipalli
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$48.99
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon 4.4 (5 Ratings)
Paperback Jul 2016 376 pages 1st Edition
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$35.98 $39.99
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$48.99
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Arrow left icon
Profile Icon Mohammed A. Imran Profile Icon Rao Kotipalli
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$48.99
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon 4.4 (5 Ratings)
Paperback Jul 2016 376 pages 1st Edition
eBook
$35.98 $39.99
Paperback
$48.99
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Renews at $19.99p/m
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Renews at $19.99p/m

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Hacking Android

Chapter 2. Android Rooting

This chapter, Android Rooting, gives an introduction to the techniques typically used to root Android devices. We will begin with the basics of rooting and its pros and cons. Then, we shall move on to topics such as various Android partition layouts, boot loaders, boot loader unlocking techniques, and so on. This chapter acts as a guide for those who want to root their devices and want to know the ins and outs of rooting concepts before they proceed.

The following are some of the major topics that we will discuss in this chapter:

  • What is rooting?
  • Advantages and disadvantages
  • Locked and unlocked boot loaders
  • Stock recovery and custom recovery
  • Rooting an Android device

What is rooting?

Android is built on top of Linux Kernel. In Unix based machines such as Linux, we see two types of user accounts – normal user accounts and root accounts. Normal user accounts usually have low privileges and they need permission from root to perform privileged operations such as installing tools, making changes to the Operating System, and so on. Whereas root accounts have all the privileges such as applying updates, installing software tools, ability to run any command, and so on. Essentially, this account has granular control over the whole system. This privilege separation model is one of the core Linux security features.

As mentioned earlier, Android is an operating system built on top of Linux Kernel. So many features that we see in traditional Linux systems will also be present in Android devices. Privilege separation is one among them. When you buy a brand new Android device, technically you are not the owner of your device, meaning you will have limited control...

Locked and unlocked boot loaders

A boot loader is the first program that runs when you boot your device. Boot loader takes care and initiates your hardware and Android kernel. Without this program, our device doesn't boot. Those manufacturers of your devices usually write boot loaders and so usually they are locked. This ensures that the end users cannot make any changes to the device firmware. To run custom images on your device, boot loader has to be unlocked first before we proceed with it. Even when you want to root a device with a locked boot loader, it requires unlocking it first if there is a possible and available way to do it. Some manufacturers provide an official method to unlock boot loader. In the next section, we will see how to unlock a boot loader on Sony devices. If the boot loader cannot be unlocked, we will have to find a flaw that allows us to root the device.

Determining boot loader unlock status on Sony devices

As mentioned earlier, some manufacturers provide an...

Stock recovery and Custom recovery

Android's recovery is one of the most important concepts for both tech users as well as users who use their phones just for making phone calls and regular surfing. When a user gets an update for his device and applies it, the recovery system of Android makes sure that it is properly done by replacing the existing image and without affecting the user data.

The Stock recovery image that is usually provided by the manufacturers is limited in nature. It includes very few functions that allow a user to perform operations such as wiping cache, user data, and performing system updates. We can boot our device into recovery mode to do any of those operations specified such as wiping cache. The steps/hardware keys used for booting into recovery mode could vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.

Custom recovery on the other hand provides more features such as allowing unsigned update packages, wiping data selectively; taking backups and setting up restores points...

Rooting Process and Custom ROM installation

Custom ROM installation is a three step process, however, if you are only interested in rooting your device and don't want to install custom ROM, you only need to follow step 1 and step 2. These are the steps involved in installing custom ROM:

  1. Installing recovery softwares like TWRP or CF.
  2. Installing the Super Su app.
  3. Flashing the custom ROM to the phone.

Installing recovery softwares

The following are two popular ways to install recovery software like TWRP or CF:

  • Using Odin
  • Using Heimdall

Before we proceed further, we need to download TWRP recovery TAR file and IMG for note 2 from the following URL and save it under Phone Rooting Directory:

Using Odin

Odin is one of the most popular recovery tools for Samsung devices. This section shows the steps to use Odin:

  1. Download the Odin 3.09 ZIP package from the following URL and extract it in the same folder where you have copied the...

Rooting a Samsung Note 2

This section explains the step by step process to root a Samsung Note 2:

  1. Download SuperSU from the following URL and save it in the Phone Rooting directory: https://download.chainfire.eu/396/supersu/.
  2. Connect the device to the computer using a USB cable and use the adb push command to copy the file to the /sdcard and unplug the cable once you're done:
    C:\..\Phone Rooting> adb push UPDATE-SuperSU-v1.94.zip /sdcard
    
  3. Switch off your device and boot it into the recovery mode by pressing the volume up, home, and power buttons simultaneously. You will see the Team Win Recovery Project (TWRP) screen, click on Install:
    Rooting a Samsung Note 2
  4. Select the Updated Super Su Zip file to start the flashing process.
  5. Once the installation is complete, you will see the Install Complete message. Click on the Reboot System to reboot the phone.
  6. Once your phone starts, you should see SuperSU added to your phone as shown following:
    Rooting a Samsung Note 2
  7. Connect to the device from the system using a USB cable and check if you can...
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Key benefits

  • Understand and counteract against offensive security threats to your applications
  • Maximize your device’s power and potential to suit your needs and curiosity
  • See exactly how your smartphone’s OS is put together (and where the seams are)

Description

With the mass explosion of Android mobile phones in the world, mobile devices have become an integral part of our everyday lives. Security of Android devices is a broad subject that should be part of our everyday lives to defend against ever-growing smartphone attacks. Everyone, starting with end users all the way up to developers and security professionals should care about android security. Hacking Android is a step-by-step guide that will get you started with Android security. You’ll begin your journey at the absolute basics, and then will slowly gear up to the concepts of Android rooting, application security assessments, malware, infecting APK files, and fuzzing. On this journey you’ll get to grips with various tools and techniques that can be used in your everyday pentests. You’ll gain the skills necessary to perform Android application vulnerability assessment and penetration testing and will create an Android pentesting lab.

Who is this book for?

This book is for anyone who wants to learn about Android security. Software developers, QA professionals, and beginner- to intermediate-level security professionals will find this book helpful. Basic knowledge of Android programming would be a plus.

What you will learn

  • Acquaint yourself with the fundamental building blocks of Android Apps in the right way
  • Pentest Android apps and perform various attacks in the real world using real case studies
  • Take a look at how your personal data can be stolen by malicious attackers
  • Understand the offensive maneuvers that hackers use
  • Discover how to defend against threats
  • Get to know the basic concepts of Android rooting
  • See how developers make mistakes that allow attackers to steal data from phones
  • Grasp ways to secure your Android apps and devices
  • Find out how remote attacks are possible on Android devices
Estimated delivery fee Deliver to United States

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Product Details

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Publication date, Length, Edition, Language, ISBN-13
Publication date : Jul 28, 2016
Length: 376 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781785883149
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Product Details

Publication date : Jul 28, 2016
Length: 376 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781785883149
Vendor :
Google
Category :
Languages :
Tools :

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Frequently bought together


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Total $ 152.97
Android Application Development Cookbook
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Android High Performance Programming
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Hacking Android
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Table of Contents

11 Chapters
1. Setting Up the Lab Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
2. Android Rooting Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
3. Fundamental Building Blocks of Android Apps Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
4. Overview of Attacking Android Apps Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
5. Data Storage and Its Security Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
6. Server-Side Attacks Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
7. Client-Side Attacks – Static Analysis Techniques Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
8. Client-Side Attacks – Dynamic Analysis Techniques Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
9. Android Malware Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
10. Attacks on Android Devices Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Index Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

Rating distribution
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon 4.4
(5 Ratings)
5 star 80%
4 star 0%
3 star 0%
2 star 20%
1 star 0%
Alejandro Caceres Jan 12, 2018
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
I really enjoyed this book! It was a quick read and more for the beginner-intermediate level hacker looking to hack around on android. If you're a pro with mobile hacking you'll probably just be bored reading this :). It goes through permissions schemes, the various directories where stuff is stored and how to look for vulnerabilities. It was a super fast read, the author explains himself very clearly and concisely while still making it enjoyable. It was just a cool book.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Putfoo Sep 16, 2016
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
Got a chance to read this book and I must say this is one of the best books in the recent past on hacking android apps. The book covers most of the latest attacks and also has details on how to playaround with various tools available for android pen testing. The best part about the book is that the language is simple and the content is easy to understand even for non english speakers. Also, worth mentioning the point that techies who are not good with Android Pen testing can also read the book and get an idea about most of the vulenrabilities. I would definitely love to recommend this book to everyone who works on android applications.Value for money 5/5Content in the book 4/5Language used by the author 4.5/5Examples given in the book 4.5/5Tools given in the book 4/5
Amazon Verified review Amazon
AP Nov 09, 2016
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
I'm really glad I've found and purchased this book it gave me valuable insight into hacking Android application. The book is concise but filled with practical knowledge. It was fun to read (In each chapter I found something interesting). If you're looking for hands-on reversing of Android applications this is the book you should read. Thank you authors! awesome job!
Amazon Verified review Amazon
AP Nov 02, 2016
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
I'm really glad I've found and purchased this book it gave me valuable insight into hacking Android application. The book is concise but filled with practical knowledge. It was fun to read (In each chapter I found something interesting). If you're looking for hands-on reversing of Android applications this is the book you should read. Thank you authors! awesome job!
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Phil Rossini Jan 15, 2018
Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 2
This is one of the most frustrating books I have read on security! I'm spending more time trying to debug why the tools are not running correctly than I am running exercises on cracking mobile devices!! The guidance on how to set up the testing lab is very basic and does not go into detail or troubleshooting options should you encounter errors. If you are new to pen testing I don't think you will get much out of this book and in many ways may inhibit your learning!
Amazon Verified review Amazon
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